What a horrible blogger I am! I feel like it has been months since I have written on this blog. I have spent all of my time writing on my self-absorbed weight loss blog talking about myself and my gastric by-pass surgery. I have completely neglected this blog and my other writing obligations. Just a quick note, the surgery went well. I have lost 71 pounds. I have been writing quite a bit.

I owe my friend Jeff Miller a review of his book, The Bubble Gum Thief. I need to post my 2013 writing goals. I also want to talk about some of the other non-diet-blog writing I have been doing.

In this post, I am going to talk about my 2013 writing goals and about some of my other writing. You see, my writer’s group asks each of us to create goals for the new year and to be specific. We cannot just say, “write more,” we have to set specific goals to show what “writing more” looks like. The only thing I did not finish last year was to finish my children’s novel. I am giving myself to Chinese New Year’s though, so I could still make it. (see what I did there?)

Writing Goals for 2013:

Submit writing, short stories, essays, etc to four contests or other publications.

Finish children’s novel, which is almost done and hanging in limbo.

Write, finish, edit 12 personal essays.

Blog on both writing blog and weight loss blog 4 or more times a week.

Begin editing children’s novel and submit to my writer’s group for review and revision.

Lofty, I know, but I have to set lofty goals to guilt myself into doing something about it.

Current Writing Projects

A couple of the girls in my writer’s group formed a separate group that is dedicated to personal essays and/or creative nonfiction. I have been attending that group as well. Because the group is small, about seven of us I think, we are much more demanding about making each other submit their work. As a result, I have written several personal essays and semi-true short stories. I also have many more ideas on future personal essays. I would like to put together a collection of essays. I am not sure if I will turn it into a book or not, but I first want to get them together and see what I have.

I plan to dedicate my next post to the book review of The Bubble Gum Thief. I will also post my review on Amazon.

That is pretty much what I have been up to. I hope to spend more time on this blog and sharing all of my writing ups and downs throughout the year! Happy writing in 2013!